Download AP Psychology Syllabus

AP Psychology Syllabus
Mr. M. McAteer
Padua Academy
2015-2016 School Year
The purpose of the Advanced Placement course in Psychology is to introduce students to
the systematic and scientific behavior and mental processes of human beings and animals.
Students are exposed to the psychological facts, principles, and phenomena associated with
the major subfields within psychology. They also learn about the methods psychologists
use in their science and practice. (Taken from the Advanced Placement Course Description
in Psychology by the College Board)
This class adheres to the most recent Academic Integrity Policy as found in the
handbook and/or on the Padua Academy website.
This course will NOT consist of a final exam UNLESS the student does not take the AP
Psychology Exam.
Course Textbook (Required)
Myers, D. G. (2014). Myers' psychology for AP (2nd ed.). US: Worth Publishers.
Students do not need to bring this book with them on a daily basis. However, students need
to keep up with their assigned readings. Some helpful tips:
1. Don’t fall behind on your reading! Set a schedule for yourself and be disciplined
to stick with that schedule. Be prepared each day to discuss the assigned reading
in class.
2. Learn to become a skilled reader:
a. Do not try to read the entire chapter at once
b. Do not ignore certain text components like:
i. Pictures
ii. Diagrams
iii. Tables
c. Preview the entire unit before reading
d. Take notes as you read:
i. Marginal
ii. Highlighting
iii. Post-its
3. Reread the entire chapter before the unit test
Recommended Supplemental Text
Weseley, A., & McEntarffer, R. (2014). Barron's AP psychology (Sixth ed.). : Barron's
Course Objectives
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Students will prepare to do acceptable work on the Advanced Placement Examination
in Psychology.
Students will study the major core concepts and theories of psychology. They will be
able to define key terms and use these terms in their everyday vocabulary.
Students will learn the basic skills of psychological research. They will be able to
devise simple research projects, interpret and generalize from results and evaluate the
validity of research reports.
Students will be able to apply psychological concepts to their own lives. They should be
able to recognize psychological principles when they are encountered in everyday
situations.
Students will develop critical thinking skills. They will become aware of the danger of
blindly accepting or rejecting any psychological theory without careful, objective
evaluation.
Students will build their reading, writing, and discussion skills.
Students will learn about psychology as a profession, and become aware of the
educational requirements which must be met to pursue such careers. They will learn
about the ethical standards governing the work of psychologists.
Questions to Think About Before We Begin
1.
Why are you taking this class? Do you want to learn about psychology? Are you ready
for a “college level” class? Are you serious about preparing for the AP Exam in May?
Would the regular psychology class better suit your goals?
2. What are your priorities? Are academics near the top of the list?
3. How much time will you need to devote to this class? A rule of thumb suggested by
many colleges is to spend two to three hours working outside of class for every hour
you spend in class. Are you willing to make this commitment?
4. Are you a strong reader? In terms of assignments in this course, nothing will occupy
more of your time than reading and studying the text. If you are not a good reader,
know that it is going to require extra time and effort to compensate for this
disadvantage.
5. What is your motivational level? Your level of motivation is much more important than
your ability level. If you want to succeed in AP Psychology and you are willing to put in
the necessary effort, you will succeed.
After considering the above, if you have any questions, concerns, etc as to whether
AP Psychology is the course for you, please see me ASAP!
Grading
Grades are based on a point scale. All tests, homework, in class assignments, and alternate
assessments receive a certain number of points. Quarter grades are based on adding the
student’s total number of points and dividing by the total points possible to get a
percentage. Please see the Student Handbook for how to calculate the semester grade.
Netclassroom
This electronic grade reporter will be updated at the minimum on the 1st and 15th of each
month.
1. IN CLASS ASSIGNMENTS/HOMEWORK
To understand class material more fully, students will be responsible to complete various
in class assignments: graphic organizers, note taking, concept maps, etc. In addition to in
class assignments, homework is another important component. Homework is usually
assigned throughout the week. In most cases, homework will be a series of readings from
the Myers’ Text. It is highly important for the students to have a better understanding of
the subject matter. If an absence occurs, it is their responsibility to find out on their own
time what they missed.
2. TESTS
Unit Tests will be announced a week prior to the day it will be taken. Each test will consist
of 50 multiple choice questions from the unit. The 50 questions will be comprised of class
notes and textbook reading. If it is in the unit, it will and can be tested. It is the student’s
responsibility to make-up the test if an absence occurs. This must be completed on the
students’ time during Flex Time. If the student fails to do so, the test score will result in a
failing grade (0).
3. PROJECT/ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT
Projects, or Alternative Assessments, will be given randomly throughout the school year.
These projects are to be completed at home on the student’s own time. These may be
completed either alone or in a group depending on the given instructions. If it is group
work, students must take responsibility for setting up time outside of class to work on their
project. Library and Internet use is usually required to complete the assignment.
Teacher’s Office Hours
Never be afraid to ask for help if you do not understand a concept. On most days, I am in
the building at 7:30am and leave around 3pm. If possible, try to arrange a meeting time and
I can be flexible. You also have Flex Time to come see me about anything you do not fully
understand. If office hours are not conducive to your schedule, you can contact me through
email ([email protected]) from 3pm-10pm.
Notebooks
Each student is to have a notebook (or Microsoft Word capabilities) and bring it to class
each day. Along with reading the textbook, taking notes is the primary way you will learn
psychology. The points below may help in your note taking:
1. Take complete, dated class notes.
2. Your notes should be more than just what items are listed on the blackboard or
screen.
3. Put the notes in your own words. Do not write down something you do not
understand without asking about it.
4. Leave some black spaces on each page to make additions and/or clarifications.
5. Review your class notes each day while they are fresh in your mind. Expand them,
clarify them, and add examples each day so they will make sense when you go back
to study them later. Note anything that doesn’t make sense and ask questions in
class or during Flex the following day.
6. Before class look over the notes from the proceeding class. This is especially
important if a topic is presented over multiple days.
7. If you are absent on class note days, you are responsible for obtaining the notes
from a classmate.
Other Helpful Survival Tips for Success
These tips have been collected from my observations in previous years and words of
wisdom from previous AP Psychology students.
1. A large portion of psychology is learning the various terms and concepts. One way to
help learn the items is to create vocabulary flash cards. This will
- help you learn the vocabulary
- help you easily separate the terms you know from those you need to work
on. This makes for efficient studying.
- provide an excellent review which will be very useful for the cumulative tests
and the AP Exam in May.
2. Form a study group with other students. This is an excellent way to help each other.
Beware that working in groups does have some disadvantages. Before forming the
group, make sure each member is willing to put in their fair share of the work.
3. If you are struggling to understand the Myers’ text, please see me. I’d be willing to
loan another introductory text. Sometimes students find reading a different author’s
explanation of a concept helps them better understand our text. DO NOT substitute
for reading the Myers’ textbook by reading a different one.
4. In your reading, studying for tests, taking notes, etc. always remember you will be
tested on the material not only in the test at the end of that particular unit, but the
cumulative tests. At the end of each unit, look over the material and organize it for
later review.
Quarter 1 Units
Unit 1 – Approaches and Methods (pgs. 1-74)
I. History and Approaches (2-4%)
Objectives:
 Recognize how philosophical perspectives shaped the development of psychological
thought
 Describe and compare different theoretical approaches in explaining behavior:
o Structuralism, functionalism, and behaviorism in the early years;
o Gestalt, psychoanalytic/psychodynamic, and humanism emerging later;
o Evolutionary, biological, and cognitive as more contemporary approaches
 Recognize the strengths and limitations of applying theories to explain behavior
 Distinguish the different domains of psychology:
o Biological, clinical, cognitive, counseling, developmental, educational,
experimental, human factors, industrial-organizational, personality,
psychometric, and social
 Identify the major historical figures in psychology (e.g., Mary Whiton Calkins, Charles
Darwin, Dorothea Dix, Sigmund Freud, G. Stanley Hall, William James, Ivan Pavlov, Jean
Piaget, Carl Rogers, B.F. Skinner, Margaret Floy Washburn, John B. Watson, Wilhelm
Wundt)
Topics:
 What is Psychology
o Psychology’s Roots
o Psychological Science Develops
 Contemporary Psychology
o Psychology’s Biggest Question (Nature vs. Nurture)
o Psychology’s Three Main Levels of Analysis
 Psychology’s Subfields
II. Research Methods (8-10%)
Objectives:
 Differentiate types of research (e.g., experiments, correlational studies, survey
research, naturalistic observations, and case studies) with regard to purpose,
strengths, and weaknesses
 Describe how research design drives the reasonable conclusions that can be drawn
(e.g., experiments are useful for determining cause and effect; the use of
experimental controls reduces alternative explanations).
 Identify independent, dependent, confounding, and control variables in
experimental designs.
 Distinguish between random assignment of participants to conditions in
experiments and random selection of participants, primarily in correlational studies
and surveys.






Predict the validity of behavioral explanations based on the quality of research
design (e.g., confounding variables limit confidence in research conclusions).
Distinguish the purposes of descriptive statistics and inferential statistics.
Apply basic descriptive statistical concepts, including interpreting and constructing
graphs and calculating simple descriptive statistics constructing graphs and
calculating simple descriptive statistics (e.g., measures of central tendency, standard
deviation).
Discuss the value of reliance on operational definitions and measurements in
behavioral research.
Identify how ethical issues inform and constrain research practices.
Describe how ethical and legal guidelines (e.g., those provided by the American
Psychological Association (APA), federal regulations, local institutional review
boards) protect research participants and promote sound ethical practice.
Topics:
 How do Psychologists Ask and Answer Questions
o The Scientific Method
o Description
o Correlation
o Experimentation
 Statistical Reasoning in Everyday Life
o Describing Data
o Making Inferences
Unit 2 – Biological Bases of Behavior (8-10%) (pgs. 75-149)
Objectives:
 Identify basic processes and systems in the biological bases of behavior, including
parts of the neuron and the process of transmission of a signal between neurons
 Discuss the influence of drugs on neurotransmitters (e.g., reuptake mechanisms).
 Discuss the effect of the endocrine system on behavior.
 Describe the nervous system and its subdivisions and functions:
o Central and peripheral nervous systems;
o Major brain regions, lobes and cortical areas;
o Brain lateralization and hemispheric specialization.
 Recount historic and contemporary research strategies and technologies that
support research (e.g., case studies, split-brain research, imaging techniques).
 Discuss psychology’s abiding interest in how heredity, environment, and evolution
work together to shape behavior.
 Predict how traits and behavior can be selected for their adaptive value.
 Identify key contributors (e.g., Paul Broca, Charles Darwin, Michael Gazzaniga, Roger
Sperry, Carl Wernicke).
Topics:
 Neural Communication:
o Neurons
o How Neurons Communicate
o How Neurotransmitters Influence Us
 The Nervous System:
o The Peripheral and Central Nervous Systems
 The Endocrine System
 Older Brain Structures:
o Brainstem
o Thalamus
o Cerebellum
o Limbic System
 Cerebral Cortex:
o Structure of the Cortex
o Functions of the Cortex
o Language
o Brain’s Plasticity
 Split-brain Research
 Right-Left Differences in the Intact Brain
 The Brain and Consciousness
o Cognitive Neuroscience
o Dual Processing
o The Two-Track Mind
 Behavior Genetics
o Genes
o Twin and Adoption Studies
o Heritability
o Gene-Environment Interaction
 Evolutionary Psychology:
o Natural Selection and Adaptation
o Critiquing the Evolutionary Perspective
Unit 3 – Sensation and Perception (6-8%) (pgs. 150-216)
Objectives:
 Discuss basic principles of sensory transduction, including absolute threshold,
difference threshold, signal detection, and sensory adaptation.
 Describe sensory processes (e.g., hearing, vision, touch, taste, smell, vestibular,
kinesthesis, pain), including the specific nature of energy transduction, relevant
anatomical structures, and specialized pathways in the brain for each of the senses.
 Explain common sensory disorders (e.g., visual and hearing impairments).
 Describe general principles of organizing and integrating sensation to promote
stable awareness of the external world (e.g., Gestalt principles, depth perception)





Discuss how experience and culture can influence perceptual processes (e.g.,
perceptual set, context effects).
Explain the role of top-down processing in producing vulnerability to illusion.
Discuss the role of attention in behavior
Challenge common beliefs in parapsychological phenomena.
Identify the major historical figures in sensation and perception (e.g., Gustav
Fechner, David Hubel, Ernst Weber, Torsten Wiesel).
Topics:
 Sensing the World
o Selective Attention
o Thresholds
o Sensory Adaptation
 Vision
o Light Energy
o The Eye
o Visual Information Processing
o Color Vision
 Hearing
o Sound Waves
o The Ear
o Hearing Loss and Deaf Culture
 Other Senses
o Touch
o Pain
o Taste
o Smell
 Perceptual Organization
o Form Perception
o Depth Perception
o Motion Perception
o Perceptual Constancy
 Perceptual Interpretation
o Sensory Deprivation and Restored Vision
o Perceptual Adaptation
o Perceptual Set
 Is there Extrasensory Perception
o Claims of ESP
o Premonitions or Pretensions
Quarter 2 Units
Unit 4 – States of Consciousness (2-4%) (pgs. 217-261)
Objectives:
 Describe various states of consciousness and their impact on behavior
 Discuss aspects of sleep and dreaming:
o Stages and characteristics of the sleep cycle;
o Theories of sleep and dreaming;
o Symptoms and treatments of sleep disorders;
 Describe historic and contemporary uses of hypnosis (e.g., pain control,
psychotherapy)
 Explain hypnotic phenomena (e.g., suggestibility, dissociation).
 Identify the major psychoactive drug categories (e.g., depressants, stimulants) and
classify specific drugs, including their psychological and physiological effects.
 Discuss drug dependence, addiction, tolerance, and withdrawal;
 Identify the major figures in consciousness research (e.g., William James, Sigmund
Freud, Ernest Hilgard).
Topics:
 Sleep and Dreams
o Biological Rhythms and Sleep
o Why Do We Sleep
o Sleep Disorders
o Dreams
 Hypnosis
 Drugs and Consciousness
o Dependence and Addiction
o Psychoactive Drugs
o Influences on Drug Use
Unit 5 – Learning (7-9%) (pgs. 262-315)
Objectives:
 Distinguish general differences between principles of classical conditioning, operant
conditioning, and observational learning
 Describe basic classical conditioning phenomena, such as acquisition, extinction,
spontaneous recovery, generalization, discrimination, and higher-order learning.
 Predict the effects of operant conditioning (e.g., positive reinforcement, negative
reinforcement, punishment, schedules of reinforcement).
 Predict how practice, schedules of reinforcement, and motivation will influence
quality of learning.
 Interpret graphs that exhibit the results of learning experiments.
 Provide examples of how biological constraints create learning predispositions.




Describe the essential characteristics of insight learning, latent learning, and social
learning.
Apply learning principles to explain emotional learning, tastes aversion,
superstitious behavior, and learned helplessness.
Suggest how behavior modification, biofeedback, coping strategies, and self-control
can be used to address behavioral problems
Identify key contributors in the psychology of leanring (e.g., Albert Bandura, John
Garcia, Ivan Pavolov, Robert Rescorla, B.F. Skinner, Edward Thorndike, Edward
Tolman, John B. Watson).
Topics:
 Classical Conditioning
o Pavlov’s Experiments and Legacy
 Operant Conditioning
o Skinner’s Experiments
 Learning by Observation
o Bandura’s Experiments
Unit 6 – Cognition (8-10%) (pgs. 316-388)
Objectives:
 Compare and contrast various cognitive processes:
o Effortful vs. automatic processing;
o Deep vs. shallow processing;
o Focused vs. divided attention.
 Describe and differentiate psychological and physiological systems of memory (e.g.,
short-term memory, procedural memory).
 Outline the principles that underlie effective encoding, storage, and construction of
memories.
 Describe strategies for memory improvement.
 Synthesize how biological, cognitive, and cultural factors converge to facilitate
acquisition, development, and use of language.
 Identify problem-solving strategies as well as factors that influence their
effectiveness.
 List the characteristics of creative thought and creative thinkers.
 Identify key contributors in cognitive psychology (e.g., Noam Chomsky, Hermann
Ebbinghaus, Wolfgang Kohler, Elizabeth Loftus, George A. Miller).
Topics:
 Information Processing
o Encoding
o Storage
o Retrieval
 Forgetting
o Encoding Failure





o Storage Decay
o Retrieval Failure
Memory Construction
o Misinformation and Imagination Effects
o Source Amnesia
o Discerning True and False Memories
o Children’s Eyewitness Recall
o Repressed or Constructed Memories of Abuse
Improving Memory
Thinking
o Concepts
o Solving Problems
o Making Decisions and Forming Judgments
Language
o Language Structure
o Language Development
Thinking and Language
o Language Influences Thinking
o Thinking in Images
Unit 7/8 – Motivation and Emotion (6-8%) (pgs. 389-459)
I. Motivation
Objectives:
 Identify and apply basic motivational concepts to understand the behavior of
humans and other animals (e.g., instincts, incentives, intrinsic versus extrinsic
motivation).
 Discuss the biological underpinnings of motivation, including needs, drives, and
homeostasis.
 Compare and contrast motivational theories (e.g., drive reduction theory, arousal
theory, general adaptation theory), including the strengths and weaknesses of each.
 Describe the classic research findings in specific motivation systems (e.g., eating,
sex, social).
Topics:
 Motivational Concepts
o Instincts and Evolutionary Psychology
o Drives and Incentives
o Optimum Arousal
o A Hierarchy of Motives
 Hunger
o The Physiology of Hunger
o The Psychology of Hunger
o Obesity and Weight Control

The Need to Belong
II – Emotion (pgs. 366-409)
Objectives:
 Discuss theories of stress and effects of stress on psychological and physical wellbeing
 Compare and contrast major theories of emotion (e.g., James-Lange, Cannon-Bard,
Schachter two-factor Theory).
 Describe how cultural influences shape emotional expression, including variations
in body language
 Identify key contributors in the psychology of motivation and emotion (e.g., William
James, Alfred Kinsey, Abraham Maslow, Stanley Schachter, Hans Selye).
Topics:
 Theories of Emotion
 Embodied Emotion
o Emotions and the Autonomic Nervous System
o Physiological Similarities Among Specific Emotions
o Physiological Differences Among Specific Emotions
o Cognition and Emotion
 Expressed Emotion
o Detecting Emotion
o Gender, Emotion, and Nonverbal Behavior
o Culture and Emotional Expression
o The Effects of Facial Expression
 Experienced Emotion
o Fear
o Anger
o Happiness
 Stress and Health
o Stress and Illness
o Stress and the Heart
o Stress and Susceptibility to Disease
Semester 1 Mid-Term Exam (Cumulative of Quarter 1 and 2 Units)
Quarter 3 Units
Unit 9 – Developmental Psychology (7-9%) (pgs. 460-553)
Objectives:
 Discuss the interaction of nature and nurture (including cultural variations) in the
determination of behavior.
 Explain the process of conception and gestation, including factors that influence
successful fetal development (e.g., nutrition, illness, substance abuse).
 Discuss maturation of motor skills.
 Describe the influence of temperament and other social factors on attachment and
appropriate socialization.
 Explain the maturation of cognitive abilities (e.g., Piaget’s stages, information
processing).
 Compare and contrast models of moral development (e.g., Kohlberg, Gilligan).
 Discuss maturational challenges in adolescence, including related family conflicts.
 Characterize the development of decisions related to intimacy as people mature.
 Predict the physical and cognitive changes that emerge as people age, including
steps that can be taken to maximize function.
 Describe how sex and gender influence socialization and other aspects of
development.
 Identify key contributors in developmental psychology (e.g., Mary Ainsworth, Albert
Bandura, Diana Baumrind, Erik, Erikson, Sigmund Freud, Carol Gilligan, Harry
Harlow, Lawrence Kohlberg, Konrad Lorenz, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky).
Topics:
 Prenatal Development and the Newborn
o Conception
o Prenatal Development
o Competent Newborn
 Infancy and Childhood
o Physical Development
o Cognitive Development
o Social Development
o Gender Development
 Parents and Peers
o Parents and Early Experiences
o Peer Influence
 Adolescence
o Physical Development
o Cognitive Development
o Social Development
o Emerging Adulthood
 Adulthood
o Physical Development

o Cognitive Development
o Social Development
Reflections on Three Major Developmental Issues
o Nature vs. Nurture
o Continuity and the Stages
o Stability and Change
Unity 10 – Personality (5-7%) (pgs. 554-605)
Objectives:
 Compare and Contrast the major theories and approaches to explaining personality:
psychoanalytic, humanist, cognitive, trait, social learning, and behavioral.
 Describe and compare research methods (e.g., case studies and surveys) that
psychologists use to investigate personality.
 Identify frequently used assessment strategies (e.g., The Minnesota Multiphasic
Personality Inventory [MMPI]. The Thematic Apperception Test [TAT], and evaluate
relative test quality based on reliability and validity of the instruments.
 Speculate how cultural context can facilitate or constrain personality development,
especially as it relates to self-concept (e.g., collectivistic vs. individualistic cultures).
 Identify key contributors to personality theory (e.g., Alfred Adler, Albert Bandura.
Paul Costa and Robert McCrae, Sigmund Freud, Carl Jung, Abraham Maslow, Carl
Rogers)
Topics:
 The Psychoanalytic Perspective
o Exploring the Unconscious
o The Neo-Freudian and Psychodynamic Theorists
o Assessing Unconscious Processes
o Evaluating the Psychoanalytic Perspective
 The Humanistic Perspective
o Abraham Maslow’s Self-Actualizing Person
o Carl Rogers’ Person-Centered Perspective
o Assessing the Self
o Evaluating the Humanistic Perspective
 The Trait Perspective
o Exploring Traits
o Assessing Traits
o The Big Five Factors
o Evaluating the Trait Perspective
 The Social-Cognitive Perspective
o Reciprocal Influences
o Personal Control
o Assessing Behavior in Situations
o Evaluating the Social-Cognitive Perspective
 Exploring the Self
o The Benefits of Self-Esteem
o Self-Serving Bias
o Culture and the Self
Unit 11 – Testing and Individual Differences (5-7%) (pgs. 606-648)
Objectives:
 Define intelligence and list characteristics of how psychologists measure
intelligence:
o Abstract vs. verbal measures;
o Speed of processing
 Discuss how culture influences the definition of intelligence.
 Compare and Contrast historic and contemporary theories of intelligence (e.g.,
Charles Spearman, Howard Gardner, Robert Sternberg).
 Explain how psychologists design tests including standardization strategies and
other techniques to establish reliability and validity.
 Interpret the meaning of scores in terms of the normal curve.
 Describe relevant labels related to intelligence testing (e.g., gifted, cognitively
disabled).
 Debate the appropriate testing practices, particularly in relation to culture-fair test
uses.
 Identify key contributors in intelligence research and testing (e.g., Alfred Binet,
Francis Galton, Howard Gardner, Charles Spearman, Rovert Sternberg, Louis
Terman, David Wechsler).
Topics:
 What is Intelligence?
o Is Intelligence One General Ability or Several Specific Abilities?
o Emotional Intelligence
o Is Intelligence Neurologically Measurable?
 Assessing Intelligence
o The Origins of Intelligence Testing
o Modern Tests of Mental Abilities
o Principles of Test Construction
 The Dynamics of Intelligence
o Stability or Change?
o Extremes of Intelligence
 Genetic and Environmental Influences on Intelligence
o Twin and Adoption Studies
o Heritability
o Environmental Influences
o Group Differences in Intelligence Test Scores
o The Question of Bias
Quarter 4 Units
Unit 12 – Abnormal Behavior (7-9%) (pgs. 649-706)
Objectives:
 Describe contemporary and historical conceptions of what constitutes psychological
disorders.
 Recognize the use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
published by the American Psychiatric Association as the primary reference for
making diagnostic judgments.
 Discuss the major diagnostic categories, including anxiety and somatoform
disorders, mood disorders, schizophrenia, organic disturbance, personality
disorders, and dissociative disorders, and their corresponding symptoms.
 Evaluate the strengths and limitations of various approaches to explaining
psychological disorders: medical model, psychoanalytic, humanistic, cognitive,
biological, and sociocultural.
 Identify the positive and negative consequences of diagnostic labels (e.g., the
Rosenhan study).
 Discuss the intersection between psychology and the legal system (e.g.,
confidentiality, insanity defense).
Topics:
 Perspectives on Psychological Disorders
o Defining Psychological Disorders
o Thinking Critically about ADHD
o Understanding Psychological Disorders
o Classifying Psychological Disorders
o Labeling Psychological Disorders
 Anxiety Disorders
o Generalized Anxiety Disorder
o Panic Disorder
o Phobias
o Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
o Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
o Understanding Anxiety Disorders
 Somatoform Disorders
 Dissociative Disorders
o Dissociative Identity Disorder
o Understanding Dissociative Identity Disorder
 Mood Disorders
o Major Depressive Disorder
o Bipolar Disorder
o Understanding mood Disorder
 Schizophrenia
o Symptoms of Schizophrenia


o Onset and Development
o Understanding Schizophrenia
Personality Disorders
o Antisocial Personality Disorder
o Understanding Antisocial Personality Disorder
Rates of Disorder
Unit 13 – Treatment of Abnormal Psychology (5-7%) (pgs. 707-752)
Objectives:
 Describe the central characteristics of psychotherapeutic intervention.
 Describe major treatment orientations used in therapy (e.g., behavioral, cognitive,
humanistic) and how those orientations influence therapeutic planning.
 Compare and contrast different treatment formats (e.g., individual, group).
 Summarize effectiveness of specific treatments used to address specific problems.
 Discuss how cultural and ethnic context influence choice and success of treatment
(e.g., factors that lead to premature termination of treatment).
 Describe prevention strategies that build resilience and promote competence.
 Identify major figures in psychological treatments (e.g., Aaron Beck, Albert Ellis,
Sigmund Freud, Mary Cover Jones, Carl Rogers, B.F. Skinner, Joseph Wolpe).
Topics:
 The Psychological Therapies
o Psychoanalysis
o Humanistic Therapies
o Behavior Therapies
o Cognitive Therapies
o Group and Family Therapies
 Evaluating Psychotherapies
o Is Psychotherapy Effective?
o The Relative Effectiveness of Different Therapies
o Evaluating Alternative Therapies
o Commonalities Among Psychotherapies
o Culture and Values in Psychotherapy
 The Biomedical Therapies
o Drug Therapies
o Brain Stimulation
o Psychosurgery
o Therapeutic Life-Style Change
 Preventing Psychological Disorders
Unit 14 – Social Psychology (8-10%) (pgs. 753-820)
Objectives:
 Apply attribution theory to explain motives (e.g., fundamental attribution error, selfserving bias).










Describe the structure and function of different kinds of group behavior (e.g.,
deindividualization, group polarization).
Explain how individuals respond to expectations of others, including groupthink,
conformity, and obedience to authority.
Discuss attitudes and how they change (e.g., central route to persuasion).
Predict the impact of the presence of others on individual behavior (e.g., bystander
effect, social facilitation).
Describe processes that contribute to differential treatment of group members (e.g.,
in-group/out-group dynamics, ethnocentrism, prejudice).
Articulate the impact of social and cultural categories (e.g., gender, race, ethnicity)
on self-concept and relations with others.
Anticipate the impact of behavior on a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Describe the variables that contribute to altruism, aggression, and attraction.
Discuss attitude formation and change, including persuasion strategies and
cognitive dissonance.
Identify important figures in social psychology (e.g., Solomon Asch, Leon Festinger,
Stanley Milgram, Philip Zimbardo).
Topics:
 Social Thinking
o Attributing Behavior to Persons or to Situations
o Attitudes and Actions
 Social Influence
o Conformity and Obedience
o Group Influence
o Cultural Influence
o The Power of Individuals
 Social Relations
o Prejudice
o Aggression
o Attraction
o Altruism
o Conflict and Peacemaking
AP Psychology Exam Preparation Test:
Review Test #1 – Quarter 3 and 4 Units
Review Test #2 – Quarter 2 Units
Review Test #3 – Quarter 1 Units
2007 AP Psychology Exam
AP Psychology Test
Post-AP Exam Activities